Emergency and Disaster Reports
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Emergency and Disaster Reports ISSN 2340-9932 Vol 1, Num 2, 2014 Monographic issue The Mass Influx of Syrian Refugees to Turkey Merve Ay University of Oviedo – Department of Medicine Unit for Research in Emergency and Disaster Emergency and Disaster Reports 2014; 1 (2): 2-53 Letter from the editors The Emergency and Disaster Reports is a journal edited by the Unit for Research in Emergency and Disaster of the Department of Medicine of the University of Oviedo aimed to introduce research papers, monographic reviews and technical reports related to the fields of Medicine and Public Health in the contexts of emergency and disaster. Both situations are events that can deeply affect the health, the economy, the environment and the development of the affected populations. The topics covered by the journal include a wide range of issues related to the different dimensions of the phenomena of emergency and disaster, ranging from the study of the risk factors, patterns of frequency and distribution, characteristics, impacts, prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, humanitarian aid, standards of intervention, operative research, recovery, rehabilitation, resilience and policies, strategies and actions to address these phenomena from a risk reduction approach. In the last thirty years has been substantial progress in the above mentioned areas in part thanks to a better scientific knowledge of the subject. The aim of the journal is to contribute to this progress facilitating the dissemination of the results of research in this field. Turkey has been a country of mass influx throughout its history due to its geographical location, political stability in the region, and ethnic relationship across the borders with its neighbors. Turkey lastly have become the destination for the Syrians fleeing the civil war in their country. This report seeks to summarize the response of Turkey to the mass influx crisis from Syria, which began on April 2011, and continues today with the number of registered refugees reaching 516,206 as of November 15, 2013. Prof. Pedro Arcos, Prof. Rafael Castro Editors, Emergency and Disaster Reports Unit for Research in Emergency and Disaster Department of Medicine. University of Oviedo Campus del Cristo 33006 Oviedo – Spain www.uniovi.net/uied 1 Emergency and Disaster Reports 2014; 1 (2): 2-53 Monographic issue The Mass Influx of Syrian refugees to Turkey Author: Merve Ay ! Table of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................3 2. History of the Mass Influx ……………………………………………....3 2.1. Immigration of Turks from Balkans ..................5 2.2. Temporary Displacement of Populations .........6 3. The Legal Aspects related to Mass Influx ...........................8 4. The Syrian Conflict ...........................................................10 5. The Refugees ...................................................................11 5.1. Displacement into Camps ...............................13 5.1.1. Status and Protection ..................................15 5.1.2. Shelter and NFIs ...........................................18 5.1.3. Food .............................................................20 5.1.4. Water and Sanitation ...................................21 5.1.5. Health ..........................................................23 5.1.6. Education .....................................................25 5.2. Urban Refugees .............................................26 5.2.1. Status and Protection ..................................28 5.2.2. Livelihood ...................................................29 5.2.3. Shelter and NFIs ...........................................31 5.2.4. Food .............................................................32 5.2.5. Health ..........................................................33 5.2.6. Education .....................................................35 5.3. IDPs in the Northern Syria ..............................36 6. Effects on the host communities .....................................39 7. Different Actors and Relationships ..................................41 8. Conclusions ......................................................................42 Bibliography .........................................................................43 2 Emergency and Disaster Reports 2014; 1 (2): 2-53 1. Introduction The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) defines mass influx as "situations involving the arrival across an international border of persons in need of international protection in such numbers and at such a rate as to make individual determination of their asylum claims under national procedures impracticable (bearing in mind available resources)" (UNHCR, 2009). The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) classifies "displaced populations" as a type of disaster in which the population in concern "leave their homes in groups, usually due to a sudden impact, such as an earthquake or a flood, threat or conflict". The response to the displaced populations -refugees and internally displaced persons- requires "relief operations combined with efforts aiming at collective and lasting solutions" (IFRC, 2013). While the host government is responsible for these populations, UNHCR has the mandate of protection and assistance. The Arab Spring -popular revolutionary movements against the regimes of some Middle Eastern and North African countries began in 2010- reached Syria in March 2011. The uprising escalated into a civil war in the following months, causing the death of more than 100,000 people. The number of Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance is estimated to be 9,3 million as of November 2013 (ECHO, 2013), 6,5 million of Syrians have become displaced within their country and more than 2 million have crossed the borders to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt in search of safety (ECHO, 2013). Sharing a border with Syria and maintaining an open-border policy since the beginning of the conflict, Turkey jumped from being the 59th most important refugee-hosting country to the 10th in a matter of one year, according to a study by the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR, 2013). Having registered more than half a million refugees, with the estimated number of 660,000 refugees expected to reach 1 million by the end of the 2013, Turkey is facing the largest mass influx crisis in its history (UNHCR, 2013; UNHCR 15.11.2013 Daily Sitrep, 2013). 2. History of the Mass Influx Turkey has been a country of mass influxes throughout its history, before and after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. The country continues to face the risk of hosting displaced populations for several geographical, political, and social reasons. First of all, Turkey is located between Asia and Europe, acts as a bridge for 3 Emergency and Disaster Reports 2014; 1 (2): 2-53 those leaving their countries in Asia and Africa and leading to Europe in hope of a better life. The mountainous borders in the east and long coasts with Mediterranean and Aegean Seas in the south and west are hard to control, providing entrance points for the asylum seekers. Figure 1: The map of Turkey The political instability, namely wars, civil strives, and ethnic and religious oppressions have been common in the Middle East and the Balkans. Turkey, a relatively more stable country in the region, is a close and safe destination for people escaping violence and oppression. Lastly, the family and ethnic links between Turkey and its neighbors create a sense of solidarity in times of hardship (Dilek, 2002). The types of mass influx into Turkey can be divided into two groups: 1- Immigration of ethnic Turks from Balkans 2- Influx of other ethnic groups affected by war 4 Emergency and Disaster Reports 2014; 1 (2): 2-53 Table 1. The mass influx into Turkey by the date, the country of origin, and the number of people. 2.1 Immigration of Turks from Balkans The first mass influx in Turkish history happened following the Convention concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations and Protocol signed at Lausanne on 30 January 1923 between newly established Republic of Turkey and Greece (Arı, 1991). According to the convention, the Turkish-Muslims in Greece Turkey and the Greek-Orthodoxs in Turkey were forced to leave to Greece, despite the fact that these people had settled in these regions for centuries during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Within two years, 456,851 Turks from Greece arrived in the country, (Akgündüz, 1988) while around 1,5 million Greeks left for Greece (Arı, 1991). A ministry called Exchange, Public Works and Settlement was established to carry out the transportation of the Turks to the country by ferries, to accommodate them in the guesthouses, to facilitate the final settlement, to provide livelihood support, and to help with their social integration (Arı, 1991). They were granted citizenship and usually settled in the houses occupied by the Greeks before the exchange. Turkey faced another influx in 1950s when neighboring Bulgaria announced that it would expel 250,000 people belonging to the ethnic Turkish minority within three months on 10 August 1950. From the beginning of 1950 to 30 November 1951, a total of 154,393 immigrants (37,351 families) entered Turkey (DPT, 1990). The poor physical conditions of the arrivals due to the harsh treatment in Bulgaria and cold weather triggered empathy, which followed cash and in-kind donations from national and international actors. The government provided shelter,